We present our recent work on the conditions under which star formation occurs in a metal-poor environment , the Large Magellanic Cloud ( [ Fe/H ] \sim - 0.4 ) .
Water masers are used as beacons of the current star formation in H ii regions .
Comparing their location with the dust morphology imaged with the Spitzer Space Telescope , and additional H \alpha imaging and groundbased near-infrared observations , we conclude that the LMC environment seems favourable to sequential star formation triggered by massive star feedback ( [ Oliveira et al .
( 2006 ) , Oliveira et al .
2006 ] ) .
Good examples of this are 30 Doradus and N 113 .
There are also H ii regions , such as N 105A , where feedback may not be responsible for the current star formation although the nature of one young stellar object ( YSO ) suggests that feedback may soon start making an impact .
The chemistry in one YSO hints at a stronger influence from irradiation effects in a metal-poor environment where shielding by dust is suppressed ( [ van Loon et al .
( 2005 ) , van Loon 2005 ] ) .